Yes, manifesto is a rather serious word but we are rather serious about what we do and how we do it. So here ’tis,  the Reid & Friends Manifesto:

• We listen. To our clients, the site, ourselves, and the wind. No smiling and nodding and forgetting. Listening, absorbing and learning.
• We respect our clients. And enjoy surprising them with creative, innovative and exciting landscape design solutions.
• We only use recycled, sustainably harvested, locally sourced products. That’s it. No hardwood from Indonesian rainforests, no stone from Indian quarries. We want to know where our products come from and know they are sourced ethically and sustainably. It’s about being smart, resourceful and respectful.
• We don’t create low maintenance gardens. They do not exist. Like humans, plants need love and affection to thrive. We do, however, use plants that will tolerate a bit of neglect and mistreatment and are well suited to their growing environment. Most importantly, we encourage and educate our clients to interact with their garden, to understand and guide its evolution.
• We are creators of authentic beauty. There are lots of designed gardens that look like models from fashion magazines – they look vaguely interesting on first glance but are pretty bland upon digging deeper. A Reid & Friends garden is the real deal. Think Tilda Swinton or Helen Mirren. Like these women, our gardens are engaging, intriguing, tell a richly woven story, and have a great sense of individual style.
• We accept that we cannot replicate nature. We promise not to try. Ever. However we will draw on her for inspiration and guidance. We will listen to her and learn from her. We will share our love of her with all who will listen.
• We accept and acknowledge the tension existing between nature and culture. Our practice sits somewhere between the two, drawing inspiration from both. As Michael Pollan says in his book, Second Nature: A Gardeners Education, ‘The garden suggests there might be a place where we can meet nature halfway’. We hope so.
• We listen to what the architecture of the site is telling us. We draw connections between landscape and built forms. Our gardens make architects look good.
• We deliver what we say we will deliver when we say we will deliver. Simple.
• We tailor landscape design solutions to suit the client requirements and the site, not our ego.
• We dream.
• We design beautiful gardens. And we do it with love.